In this age of communication, there can be too much of a good thing. Telephone calls and messages of a miscellaneous nature and from a variety of sources can inundate an individual. Otherwise welcome personal calls from family and friends may be ill-timed. Business calls from employers or employees, from clients or customers, and from suppliers or contractors can range from the petty to those of the paramount importance. In addition, telephone calls are used by a host of enterprising individuals and businesses to reach out on behalf of myriad organizations. Thus, one caller may seek a contribution from the called party to benefit a good cause. Another caller may seek to sell something to the called party such as an insurance policy, a pest control service, or even a set of steak knives. Yet another caller may conduct a poll, survey or request other information. Further, telephone calls to the wrong number or misdirected calls can be an annoyance. These intrusive telephone calls can range from a slight hindrance to a significant impediment to getting anything done.
The prior art offers several examples of devices used to separate the important telephone calls from the chaff. Telephone answering machines are used often to screen calls. Generally, a call may be answered by the answering machine after a predetermined number of rings. If the called party is in the near vicinity of the answering machine, the called party may listen through the speaker of the answering machine to the message as it is being left by the calling party. In most telephone answering machines, the called party may interrupt the recording of the message and speak directly to the caller by picking up the telephone receiver. Often, this results in a partial message left on the recording medium of the answering machine. The partial message takes up space that might be used for other telephone messages.
There are several other disadvantages to the use of a telephone answering machine as a monitoring device. The first disadvantage is the expense of purchasing and maintaining a telephone answering machine. A good quality unit may involve a significant monetary expenditure. As with any mechanical device, the answering machine may malfunction or require repairs, especially if it is frequently in use.
A second, and significant, disadvantage to the use of the telephone answering machine as a monitoring device is that the called party must be in the near vicinity of the answering machine when a call is received to hear the caller's message. This disadvantage is based on two characteristics of the answering machine. First, the answering machine must be connected to a telephone line, and through such connection, the answering machine is not a readily portable device. Second, the speaker location and volume of the answering machine (together with the hearing capability of the called party) determine the proximity necessary for the called party to hear the message.
The limited ability of the telephone answering machine to function as a monitoring device is demonstrated through the example of a multi-telephone household with the telephone/answering machine located in the living room and telephones located in other parts of the house, such as the kitchen or master bedroom. The called party may hear the telephone ring in the living room, kitchen or master bedroom. However, the called party may hear the message being left on the answering machine only in the living room. Thus, to monitor the call, the called party has to hurry from the other part of the house to the living room. By the time the called party gets to the living room, the caller may have already finished leaving a message. If the called party is not at home when a call is received it is impossible for the called party to monitor the call. The telephone answering machine does not allow the called party to monitor calls when the called party is present at locations remote from the answering machine. This disadvantage effectively limits the screening use of the answering machine to the time the called party spends near the telephone/answering machine.
Another prior art device which can be used to monitor telephone calls is a voice mail system. Generally, a voice mail system is similar to a telephone answering machine in that the system records messages left by callers. Some voice mail systems allow for monitoring of a message while it is being recorded. These voice mail systems share the same disadvantages of answering machines when used as monitoring devices. First, voice mail systems are relatively expensive, especially for personal rather than business use. Some systems require specialized telephone units. Second, voice mail systems require maintenance and repair, often by specialized technicians. Most importantly, voice mail systems require the called party to be in close proximity to the telephone having voice mail features to use message monitoring. Voice mail systems do not provide for remote monitoring in real-time by the called party.
Another prior art device, the ALLTEL Message Monitor, Model 400 MM, combines the features of an answering machine and a voice mail system. However, such a device does not overcome the disadvantages common to both with respect to message monitoring. The ALLTEL Message Monitor is manufactured by Dees Communications Engineering, Delta, British Columbia, Canada and Redmond, Wash.
This unit is connected in series with a touch tone telephone. The user must have three way calling and touch tone service. The unit automatically forwards unanswered telephone calls to a voice mail system or to any other programmed telephone number. All calls received by the unit can be monitored through an internal speaker on the unit. Calls can be intercepted by lifting the handset of the telephone to which the unit is connected. However, the unit shares the disadvantages common to answering machines and voice mail systems with respect to monitoring telephone calls and has some disadvantages of its own. The unit is different from the other prior art devices in that it requires the user to have a touch tone telephone, touch tone service, and three-way calling service. These requisite characteristics increase the expense of the unit. The shared disadvantages include the relative expense involved in purchasing and setting up the unit, as well as the expenses in maintaining and repairing the unit. The greatest disadvantage is common to all three types of prior art devices and that is the inability to provide for monitoring of received telephone calls remote from the physical location of the unit.
Accordingly, there is a need for a communications monitoring and control system which provides a called party with the ability to monitor and control communications from the called party. In particular, there is a need for a system which provides a called party with the ability to monitor communications from a location remote from the location to which the communications are directed. There is a need for a monitoring and control system which allows the called party to intercept the communications whether the called party is at the location of the called number or at a remote location. There is also a need for a monitoring and control system which is operative with miscellaneous communications services including call waiting services. In addition, there is a need for a system which provides a called party with a monitoring and control system that is relatively inexpensive, that does not require additional on-premises equipment, and that is easy to maintain and to service.